A review by shawcrit
Power by Linda Hogan

4.0

This novel describes the paradoxical struggle between two different religious creeds, between two different ways of perceiving the world, between a multitude of female identities. The beauty of this novel is that it exposes the similarities and the differences, revealing the dangers in both and the ways in which power is employed within both belief systems, for good and bad purposes. The novel starts off very strong, with the storm scene and the climax of the panther killing. This section is incredibly powerful and lyrical, the language just flows and I felt embedded within the narrative. The holistic world view is portrayed well here, not literally spoken, but expressed well through the poetic form and language. A division occurs after this initial storm scene, and the remainder of the novel consists of Omishto's journey to reconcile this schism, to understand it. The narrative is powerful and dream-like, very effective; however, it does seem to lag and gets a little bit redundant near the end. The concluding image is beautiful and wraps up the narrative very well.